Artemis Fowl: The True Story
by CaptainS10
Summary: What if the story we all thought we knew was not what we thought it was? What if Colfer toned it down to be more… kid-appropriate? A darker take on the series, starting at book one. Non-con, torture, and darkness galore. M with good reason.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people! So, to start, just in case anyone happens upon this or hasn't read LBNF, I apologize for my brief absence. I've been having some medical issues on my end. I can't promise I won't disappear again, but I will try to give some notice beforehand.**

 **Anyway, onwards to FF! Dark Shorty is back! Anyone miss me? :P**

 **So, in case anyone missed the rating or the warnings in the summary, this story will be DARK. Non-con, torture, all that fun stuff I haven't touched on in a little while. I've had this in the making for a little while, but I lost all the stuff I had for it when I took my last hiatus. I just recently rediscovered a few bits of it, and it inspired me to start rewriting, as much as I hated to have to. Sorry there's not much in this first part - just the prologue. It's short, only a little more than 500 words, but it's what I have for the moment and I'm excited to get this up.**

 **So, if none of this has scared you away, great! I'll stop babbling and let you read. Enjoy! :)**

Prologue

What if the story we all thought we knew was not what we thought it was? What if Colfer toned it down to be more… kid-appropriate? It's not exactly unheard of it book or movie adaptations of stories. The story of Artemis Fowl is not any different.

The truth about what happened in the adventures of Artemis Fowl and Holly Short is much darker and startling tale than what Colfer made it out to be. He left out or changed many key details for the sake of making the story happier and simpler for his audience. Among these were the boy's age, the length of the Fowl Siege, the amount of times and length of time that time was stopped, Artemis's reasons for abducting Holly, and many, many more.

The main parts of the story that Colfer did not alter were those at the very beginning. Artemis and Butler really did meet with the man and the sprite in the beginning of the book, and this is actually how they acquired their information. However, they did not put it into use for several years after, in which time Artemis used to do more research and plan extensively. It also did take several months to capture Holly Short, when he did do it, but for a different reason than what Colfer states. For the purpose of this tale, those parts with not be repeated, as only these key details are different, not the events themselves. They played out exactly as Colfer described them.

Artemis Fowl was actually 18 years old when he first made contact with the People. While it is true that he discovered them at the meager age of 12, he waited to make first contact, as his parents' states and the state of the Fowl's riches was not yet in dire straits and he wanted to be taken more seriously than he knew he would be at that young age. And command more respect he did.

It is important to realize, from an outsider's standpoint, that Artemis may appear to be a cruel man, possibly to the point of psychopathic or psychotic, but none of these things are true. His treatment of Holly and the People was rough but, in his eyes at least, necessary to make certain events happen, or he would have never been able to go through with it all. In all honesty, seeing the human for how he really is, not how he was initially portrayed, probably makes his character arc and the changes he experiences because of Holly and the People all the more remarkable and impressive.

But perhaps that should be left to the reader to decide.

Be warned before venturing any further into the truth of this tale. Proceed with caution. Artemis is not a bad man, but he did do some truly terrible things, regardless of whether it was necessary or not. The story ahead may contain graphic descriptions of details or events that may trigger or newly scar weak-minded or weak-stomached individuals or those with a past involving similar events. This story is not one for the faint of heart.

And now, onward, to the true story of the events of Artemis Fowl.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, there's not much I can say about my lack of updates except school has started again and I'm drowning in work. I'm writing, little by little, but there's not much time to and even less to update. So, I'm still here, still writing, just... slowly. And I'd like to say it will get better, but the likelihood it will before probably the holiday season is low. So... yeah.**

 **Anyway, don't mind my babbling excuses. If you're still here, thanks, and enjoy!**

1.

Holly's eyes shot open.

For a moment, she saw nothing but spots, blinded by the screaming headache currently ailing her and the brightness of the cell she was in. Everything was white, from the lights above her to the four walls surrounding her. The only items of any color in the whole room were the door she could see in her peripheral and the bonds keeping her strapped the table she was on. She tried to tug at them, but they were firm and she felt weak as a newborn kitten. Whatever that human had tranquilized her with, she wasn't sure, but she felt nasty and weak.

As her eyes came back into focus, she realized some of the dark spots weren't fading. Instead, they were coming together to make a giant fly. No, not a fly. A person. Another human, wearing those stupid reflective sunglasses again. This one was a female - tall, blond, and thin.

When she spoke, her voice was high and chirrupy and drilled right through her aching head. "Oh, it's awake! Can you understand me?"

Holly flinched, gritting her teeth. It was like someone had driven a spike into the side of her head. White hot pain seared from temple to temple, so strong that she felt bile rise in her throat, but thankfully she hadn't eaten in probably at least a day now. It actually did take her a moment to be able to understand what she was saying through the pain. If she hadn't remembered the language the humans were speaking the night they captured her and applied it, then she honestly would have been totally lost in the haze of it.

"Of course I can understand you," Holly hissed through gritted teeth, not even bothering to acknowledge the "it" comment. "Where am I? What did you do to me?"

The girl had stopped listening after the first statement, checking her watch. "Oooh, almost right on time. He may have miscalculated your weight just a little bit, but you woke up within fifteen minutes of what he said, so obviously not too much." Ignoring the way Holly bristled at both her statements and being ignored, she got up. "Well, I should probably go get Artemis. He wanted to be alerted immediately when you woke up."

"Artemis?" Holly repeated, craning her neck to the side despite the pain to watch the girl until she walked out of view.

"Artemis Fowl," the girl piped from somewhere behind her. She was out of sight now, but Holly could still feel her eyes on her. Holly shuddered slightly. Even the name sounded scary. "This was his idea. But he's a genius, so I wouldn't go getting any ideas if I were you. You're not going to get away with anything that he doesn't allow you to, and escaping is not going to happen, so…" She shrugged, opening the door. "I'd just lay there and relax until he's ready for you." And she left.

Holly scowled at the ceiling. Like she could relax in this situation. How long until whoever this Artemis person was came for her? Would he take her out of the cell? Hell, even just letting her up would be a fatal mistake. All she needed was one moment's surprise to be able to take him out, whoever he was. And wasn't Artemis a girl's name, anyway? In the People's mythology it was, at least.

She listened to the sound of the girl's footsteps until they faded out completely, but kept her ears strained, waiting for the slightest sound to tell her if anyone was coming back. A few minutes later, she swore she picked up the faintest sound of conversation, but it was too far for her to actually make out any words, and it was over so quickly it might have been the wind blowing down the hallway outside her cell for all she knew.

"Well, well," a cold voice suddenly chuckled from behind her. Holly tensed and craned her neck, trying to see. "Our little elf is awake, now, hm?"

The voice was enough to send a chill up her spine, and she felt a surge of anger at herself at the feeling. All of her training, and the voice of one lowly, miserable human was enough to make her stomach flip? Really? It was awful, but then, her gut had never steered her wrong before. That alone was enough to make the fear ten times worse. And he'd somehow entered without her hearing a sound. Extraordinary - and doubly terrifying.

Now that he was in the room with her, he was close enough she could hear the faintest whisper of fabric when he moved, but still no footsteps. Strange.

He finally crossed the room and stepped into view, moving up next to her. He was undoubtedly human, and young, by the looks of it. Toddlers to fairies were adults to humans, so it was hard for her to gauge, but he appeared to just be reaching the threshold of the end of adolescence, judging by several different aspects of his appearance. An adult, then, but barely. He had dark, ebony hair, that fell about in a way that wasn't quite tame but not quite messy either, framing his slim face and highlighting his high cheekbones and startling crystalline blue eyes. Those eyes immediately felt sharp, piercing, as if he could see not only right through her clothes but through her skin into her very soul.

His lips curved up into a cold, amused smirk at the look she gave him. "Are you really ignoring me? Do you think that's going to help your cause at all?" He ran his fingers down her jaw lightly.

Holly snapped at his fingers, craning her head away the bed she could, despite the pain doing so caused her. "Maybe I thought that not talking would help me live longer, seeing as how I have nothing to say to you that you'll want to hear."

Artemis just looked bemused. "Well, I suppose that's fair. I have nothing to say to you that you'll want to hear, either. But that's alright. We're not here to make friends. Not this time."

"Oh, is this the part where you tell me why you drugged and abducted me and your whole master plan? Believe me, I'd love to hear it," she snapped at him scathingly. "Let me guess. World domination? Ruling or destroying my People? Really, you humans only ever want one or the other."

"World domination? Don't label me so predictable, Captain Short. I think I just might surprise you - like I just did there," he added when her expression morphed slightly into one of surprise, caught off guard by the fact he knew her name.

"How do you-" she started, but he waved her off.

"You have a nametag, Short. And yes, I can read it." He crossed his arms.

Holly stared at him for a moment, then shook off her surprise. "Well, it doesn't really matter what you can read or what you think you know. My People will come for me, and hopefully wipe you off the face of the Earth when they do."

If her threats perturbed him, he didn't show it. He just shrugged. "I'm counting on it. And they can try to do whatever they'd like, my dear, but even if they do succeed…" he leaned forward, putting his lips by her ear. "If I go down in this, you're going down with me," he whispered. Then he straightened, grinning wickedly at her. "But don't worry. That won't happen. I'm a genius, after all, and I know everything I need to know to make your People give me exactly what I want. Then you can go on your pretty little way and not have to deal with me again."

Holly recoiled, but she'd already moved about as much as she could. "And what exactly is it you want, Fowl?"

"Gold," Artemis said, simply. "A simple ransom will do. If they cooperate, no one has to get hurt. If they don't…" he shrugged. "Well, I make no promises."

Holly stared at him blankly for a moment. "Are you serious? This isn't a fairy tale, human. There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow here for you to steal."

"No. But there is an LEP ransom fund, and if I'm not mistaken, my dear, this right here-" he pointed to the lapel on her chest, "-is a set of LEP acorns on your chest. Am I wrong?"

She flushed deeply, her face turning a shade of red that might have made her commander proud, had he been able to see it. "I-" She stopped. She couldn't deny it; there was no sense in denying it. He already knew. "This is foolish, Fowl," she said, finally. "You'll fail. They won't pay. Not for me, not like this, not to you. They'd let me die first."

"Well," Artemis responded, slowly, thoughtfully, "That can certainly be arranged." He looked her over once more and nodded, stepping away from her. "I think you've been told all you need to know for now. I'll be back when there's further need for you to know something. In the meantime…" He met her eyes. "Sit tight and behave. And don't struggle against your bonds. You'll only hurt yourself more than you need to be hurt." And with those startling, cruel orders, he left her alone the cell again.


End file.
